GRAND RAPIDS, MN — A Minnesota court has ruled that a history of exhibitionism does not prevent one from caring for children in the here and now.At least a porn past can’t prevent a Grand Rapids, MN, couple from obtaining licenses to operate a daycare facility. A question remains about whether they will be able to retain custody of two foster children they wish to adopt. A judge is expected to rule on that issue soon.
Difficulties including moralistic public outcry and threatened removal of even their two natural children arose when residents of Grand Rapids, population about 8,000, discovered Ann and Joe Gale operated an adult entertainment website in the 1990s and early 2000s. Polyamorists, the Gales posted nude images and videos of Anne Gale, along with erotic fiction, at the now-defunct Anne34DD.com. The site was shuttered in 2004, after a stalker intrigued by the fantasy discovered where the Gales lived.
A year later, the Gales began offering childcare in their home and took in two foster children, both younger than 2. Despite their porn past, which they disclosed during an extensive background check, the couple was granted state licenses for both childcare functions. The county’s Health and Human Service director said “some changes they have made in their lifestyle” convinced officials the Gales were trustworthy around children.
Now the foster children’s mother wants them back, despite having essentially abandoned them in the Gales’ care in 2007. The Gales sued to retain custody, Rachel Voight, 23, countersued, and the Gales’ private past became public knowledge. In court documents, Voight, a confessed check forger and drug user, accused the Gales of living a “morally deficient lifestyle.”
County officials beg to disagree, according to court records. A 2002 investigation pursuant to a stalker complaint filed by the Gales found no reason to remove the couple’s two young children from the home. During background checks, state licensing officials found no evidence of criminal behavior or maltreatment of children. Licensing requirements in Minnesota no longer contain a morals clause because there is no common definition of “morality,” according to state Human Service Department Director of Licensing Jerry Kerber.
“As far as we can find, adults engaging in sexual activity in front of a camera and putting it up on the Web isn’t actually illegal,” he told the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune.
